Plow small end wing construction



July 14, 1959 c. w. SHIPLEY ET AL 2,894,342

PLOW SMALL END WING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 30. 1954 2,894,342 7 Ice Patented July 14, 1959 PLOW SMALL END WING CONSTRUCTION Calvin W. Shipley, Munster, and Stuart D. McLean,

Hammond, Ind, assignors to 0. F. Jordan Company, East Chicago, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application September 30, 1954, Serial No. 459,243

Claims. (Cl. 37-105) The invention relates generally to improvements in rail- .road spreaders, but relates more particularly to improvements in the construction and operation of a wing member a'ssociated with the plow of the spreader.

In certain railroad Spreaders it is common to provide ;a front plow, comprising a V-shape structure at the front end, with rearwardly extending side wings. Rearwardly of the .plow proper it is customary to provide, at each side of the car, a main spreader wing, the arrangement being such that a gap exists between the inner forward end of the main wing, where it is hinged to the car side, and the rear end of the plow 'side wings. This gap has heretofore been closed by a small wing member secured to the rear end of the side plow wing on a vertical pivot, and extending rearwardly into contact with .the outer face of the main wing. Since the main wing is designed to swing outwardly from the car so that it may assume various angular positions, it is necessary that the gap closing wing also swing. Normally, it is necessary and desirable that this .plow wing follow the movements of the main wing and for this purpose spring means have been provided to keep the end of the plow small wing in contact with the main wing.

Under certain conditions it would also be useful if the so-called small plow end wing could be operated vindependently of the movement of the main wing for ballast spreading purposes, but this has not been possible with the spring arrangement heretofore in use.

Also, such spring means required replacement from time to time, and was diffioult to replace. Also, in backing out of drifted snow or other materials, material often accumulated behind the plow small end wing caused it to swing forward, which is objectionable.

Because of structure and arrangement, distortion of the plo-w small end wing was likely to occur, thus causing interference with platforms, switch stands, etc., which .the spreader was designed to clear in operation along the tracks.

The general object of the invention is to provide structure wherewith the above noted objections may be over- .come.

Again, it is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement whereby constant pressure of the plow small ,end wing against the main wing can be applied and which,

.willalso permit adjustment while under pressure against the main wing.

A further object is to provide a structure which'will of the invention, will more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a railroad spreader provided with a small end wing 0n the plow of the spreader, embodying the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary and partly schematic horizontal plan sectional view of parts of the spreader, as taken on the line 22 and on a scale enlarged over that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical detail sectional view through parts of the spreader, as taken on the line 33 of and on the scale of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, 10 indicates as a whole a railroad spreader in the form of a car adapted to travel along the rails of a railroad track. At the forward end of the car is a plow P, comprising a V-shaped plow and rearwardly extending wings. Since the construction at each side of the car is alike, a description of the parts on one side will suffice for both.

To the rear end of the V plow member 11 there is secured, by means of a vertical pivot member 12, a rearwardly extending wing member 13 which, in turn, is held in position by a brace structure 14 (see Fig. 3) that extends between the underframe 15 of the car and the inner side of the wing 131.

Rearwardly of the main part of the plow is an up standing post structure 16, carrying a hinge 17, to one part 18 of which the inner end of the main spreader wing 19 is attached by means of a horizontal pivot pin 20. The hinge member 18 is connected, by means of a vertical pivot pin 21, to that part of the hinge 17 carried by the upstanding post member. 7 i

The main wing is thus adapted to be swung toward and away from the side of the car between the full and dotted line positions shown in Fig. 2. Suitable telescopic braces 2222 are provided to hold the main wing in any ad} justed position between said full and dotted line esttions. These braces may be of conventional construction and have not been illustrated in detail. Also, for purposes of better'illustration of the present invention, the braces have been omitted from Fig. 2.

Usually in railroad spreaders of this type, power means are provided for swinging the main wing between said full line and dotted line positions illustrated in Fig. 2. Since this mechanism is or may be of conventional construction, it has not been illustrated.

Power mechanism 23 is also provided for swinging the main wing vertically on the horizontal pivot 20 but since this forms no particular part of the present invention, it is not thought necessary to describe the same.

Construction and operation of plow small end wing The plow small end wing as shown comprises a vertically disposed wing member 25 of generally rectangular shape in elevation. The for-ward vertical edge thereof is attached to the rear edge of the plow side wing 13 by means of a vertical pivot member 26. This construction permits the plow rear end wing member 25 to be swung inwardly and outwardly relative to the side of the car. Two positions are shown in Fig. 2., one by full lines and the other by dotted lines. When so swung the wing can follow the movements of the main wing as it is swung toward and away from the side of the car.

For some purposes it is desired that the outer end of the small end wing be maintained in pressure contact with the outer face of the main wing or with the plate member 27 secured to the face of the main wing when such a member is provided. At other times it is desirable to be able to control the position and movement of wing 25 independent of the main wing movement or position.

For this purpose there is provided an hydraulic power cylinder 30 the inner end of which is pivotally attached to a bracket 31, the latter being aflixed to the car center sill. The connection to bracket 31 is by means of a universal joint 32. A similar universal joint 33 connects the outer end of piston rod 34 to the end of a lever arm 35, the latter being rigidly aflixedto the inner face of the wing 25.

It will be understood that a conventional piston (not shown) is disposed in the cylinder 30 for reciprocation therein in response to applied hydraulic fluid pressure and whereby the piston rod 34 can be projected and retracted, thereby swinging the lever arm 35 between full and dotted lines and with it the small end wing 25, as shown in Fig. 2.

The hydraulic circuit is schematically illustrated in Fig. 2. Therein 40 represents a prime mover connected to operate an hydraulic pump 41. 42 is a fluid reservoir, to which the pump intake is connected by line 43.

A valve 44 is provided having a spool therein shiftable by means of the hand lever 45. The valve is spring loaded so that the lever 45 is normally returned to the full line position shown in Fig. 2. When the lever 45 is in full line position, fluid under pressure (say of the order of 2000 p.s.i.) flows through line 46, past relief valve 47 therein and to valve 44. At that time the port arrangement is such that line 46 is connected to line 43 which, in turn, is connected to the inner end of the cylinder 30, thereby applying fluid pressure, tending to move the piston toward the outer end of the cylinder. This action tends to force the piston rod outwardly, thus applying pressure tending to swing the lever arm 35 in a clockwise direction and with it the small end wing 25. In this way firm engagement of the end of wing 25 with the main wing is maintained. When the line 46 is connected to line 48, line 52 is also connected to line 51 so that any fluid displaced by the movement of the piston toward the outer end of the cylinder 30 will flow back to the reservoir 42. Should the main wing be moved inwardly or outwardly the wing 25 will follow such movements.

It will be understood that when the main wing swings outwardly from any of its inner positions, the piston in cylinder 30 will be forced toward the inner end of the cylinder. In this movement the hydraulic fluid displaced in the piston movement will flow back through line 48 through valve 44, to line 46, through the relief valve 47, line 50, to line 51 and back to reservoir 42.

As before explained, the initial pressure applied to the piston will be of the given order, say of 2000 p.s.i. However, the piston, on the return movement, will cause an increase in pressure and when it reaches a pressure of say 2050 p.s.i. it will be sufficient to open the relief valve 47 to permit the fluid to return to reservoir, as before explained. At the same time pressure is, of course, being applied to the piston so that contact between the small end wing and the main wing is constantly maintained.

If the main wing cannot be operated or is not operated, the small end wing may, nevertheless, be operated. For this purpose it is necessary manually to shift the hand lever 45 from the full line position (Fig. 2) to the dotted line position. Assume the main wing to be in the dotted line position (Fig. 2) and it is desired to swing the small end wing outwardly to or toward the full line position of Fig. 2. Movement of the hand lever to dotted position causes shifting of the spool element of valve so that ports are aligned to connect line 46 to line 52 and to connect line 48 to line 51. Fluid under pressure then flows from line 46 to line 52, forcing the piston toward the inner end of the cylinder. The displaced fluid then flows through line 48, valve 44, and line 51 to reservoir.

Since the lever must be positively held in the dotted 4 line position, when released it returns to the full line position at which time lines 46 and 48 are again reconnected, thus applying pressure tending to move the piston outwardly of the cylinder 30, with the resulting action before explained.

Further remarks From the foregoing description it will be seen the present invention aflords many advantages. Pressure is constantly applied to hold the end of the small end wing against the main wing or the wing member 27, if there be one. There are no spring means requiring frequent replacement. Distortion of the small end wing is eliminated so that the necessary clearance is maintained to permit operation along the railroad without danger of striking platforms, bridges, etc.

Again the construction permits use of the small end wing for material spreading purposes which could not be done with prior constructions.

The above advantages, as well as others, are provided by the disclosed invention.

We claim:

1. In a railroad spreader, the combination of a car, a main spreader wing having its inner end mounted at the side of the car upon a vertical pivot for swinging movement between a number of angular positions relative to the side of the car, a plow structure mounted on the car forwardly of said main spreader wing, said plow structure including a side wing member, a plow small end wing having its forward end secured to the rear end of the said plow side wing, upon a vertical pivot for swinging movement between a number of angular positions relative to the car side, said plow small end wing being adapted to span a gap between the plow side wing and the main spreader wing, and fluid actuated power means for automatically maintaining the rear end of the plow small end wing constantly in contact with the outer side of the main spreader Wing in its various angular positions, said fluid actuated power means including a cylinder, a piston operating therein and a piston rod operati-vely connected to the small end Wing.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the means for automatically maintaining the rear end of the plow small end wing constantly in contact with the outer side of the main spreader wing includes bracket means carried by the plow small end wing, and means connecting the end of said piston rod to said bracket means, whereby fluid pressure on one side of said piston tends to swing the plow small end wing in one direction, and fluid pressure on the other side of the piston tends to swing the plow small end Wing in the other direction.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the fluid actuated power means includes a reservoir for maintaining a supply of hydraulic fluid, a power operated hydraulic pump, means providing a control valve having movable structure therein, conduits extending be tween the reservoir and the pump intake, between the pump outlet and the control valve, between the control valve and opposite ends of the cylinder, and between the control valve and the reservoir, a relief valve positioned in the conduit extending between the pump outlet and the control valve, a conduit connecting said relief valve to the conduit leading from said control valve back to said reservoir, means for moving the movable struc ture of said control valve, said movable structure, when in one position, connecting said conduits leading from the outlet of the pump to the control valve and from the control valve to one end of the cylinder and at the same time connecting the conduit leading from the other end of the cylinder to the conduit leading from the control valve to the reservoir, whereby, when the means for moving the movable structure of the control valve is in said one position, the rear end of the plow small end wing is automatically maintained in contact with the outer face of the main spreader wing in its various angular positions, said relief valve being operative to bypass fluid from said cylinder to the reservoir.

4. The arrangement set forth in claim 3 in which the means for moving the movable structure in the control valve is spring loaded, thereby automatically maintaining the stated connections in such position that the rear end of the plow small end wing is automatically maintained in contact with the outer face of the main spreader wing in its various angular positions.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the fluid actuated power means includes a reservoir for maintaining a supply of hydraulic fluid, a power operated hydraulic pump, means providing a control valve having movable structure therein, conduits extending between the reservoir and the pump intake, between the pump outlet and the control valve, between the control valve and opposite ends of the cylinder, and between the control valve and the reservoir, a relief valve positioned in the conduit extending between the pump outlet and the control valve, a conduit connecting said relief valve to the conduit leading from said control valve back to said reservoir, means for moving the movable structure of said control valve, said movable structure, when in one position, connecting said conduits leading from the outlet of the pump to the control valve and from the control valve to one end of the cylinder and at the same time connecting the conduit leading from the other end of the cylinder to the conduit leading from the control valve to the reservoir, whereby, when the means for moving the movable structure of the control valve is in said one position, the rear end of the plow small end wing is automatically maintained in contact with the outer face of the main spreader wing in its various angular positions, said relief valve being operative to bypass fluid from said cylinder to the reservoir, and whereby, when the means for moving the movable structure of the control valve is in another position the said small end wing can be swung to various angular positions free from contact with the outer face of the said main wing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,601,533 Klima et al. Sept. 28, 1926 1,718,550 Ferris et al June 25, 1929 1,755,695 Klima et al Apr. 22, 1930 2,643,470 Kaeser June 30, 1953 2,646,633 Jahn July 28, 1953 

